Muslim woman reports attack outside Ohio mosque

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 20-year-old immigrant from Somalia said someone assaulted her with pepper spray outside an Ohio mosque and told her to leave the country, spurring investigations by police and likely the FBI.

Saida Said said she was in her car running errands when a man in a car followed her to the mosque’s parking lot on the west side of Columbus on Monday afternoon.

Said told reporters the man harassed her, swore at her, said she should leave the country and threatened to kill her. He then attacked her with pepper spray, she said.

Mosque officials called police, who took a report and turned it over to the prosecutor’s office.

The FBI said Tuesday it will likely open a civil rights investigation, the results of which would be turned over to federal prosecutors for any possible charges.

It’s a sad situation when an individual, who is incapable of handling anger at their own situation, turns that anger outward and attacks others. It’s worse when that behaviour seems sanctioned; when almost all one hears about Muslims on TV is negative.
It is never ok to attack a person based on race, religion or orientation. It’s especially egregious when a man feels it is ok to attack a woman, a stranger to him, who is alone. If for no other reason, I hope this criminal is found, and is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.